Bound buttonhole attachment



Feb. 13, 1962 H. GORTON ,8 2

BOUND BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT Filed April 21. 1960 ATTORNEYS 3,020,862 Patented Feb. 13, 1962 free 3,020,862 BOUND BUTTUNHQLE ATTACHMENT Helen Gorton, Stony Creek, Conn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Mite Corporation, New Haven, Conn, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 23,830 1 filahn. (Cl. 112-77) This invention relates to a device for making bound or piped buttonholes, and more particularly to a device of this character for use with the ordinary household sewing machine. In some respects the device is similar to that shown in United States Patent No. 2,814,265.

In making a bound buttonhole a piece of cloth is normally sewed to the main body of the material, this piece of cloth being folded upon itself from each side edge inwardly and sewed to the body of the garment and the edges pulled downwardly through slots cut through the piece itself and the material to which the piece is sewn.

In the use of an attachment of this kind it is desirable to provide some means for determining the length of the stitches made in the patch or piece of material which is determined by the length of the buttonhole itself, and in the present structure a convenient guide means is provided to this end.

As illustrated, the device comprises a platelike member of sheet material such as metal, for example, having a central slot therein. On the under side of the platelike member a yoke is hinged at one end to the end of the member, which yoke is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending prongs to hold the edge of the piece of material while it is being folded and sewed. In order to determine the length of the stitch made a guide member in the form of a slider is provided on the upper surface of the plate member, this slider being formed to embrace the edge of the plate member so as to be secured thereto and is frictionally held in adjusted positions to which it may be moved.

As the presser foot or" the sewing machine extends beyond the needle opening therein and as one edge of the guide member is set tov the position to determine the length of the sewing, the guide member is recessed so as to permit the presser foot to pass beyond this edge so that the seam may be carried to a position opposite the guiding edge of the guide or slider.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved attachment for making bound buttonholes which may be conveniently used with the ordinary domestic household sewing machine.

Still another object of th invention is to provide a sewing machine attachment of the character described wherein a guide member is slidably mounted upon the attachment to determine the length of the seam to be stitched in the patch or piece of goods with which the buttonhole is made.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the character described comprising a plate or body member which will be provided with a guide member slidably mounted on the plate and frictionally retained in positions to which it may be moved.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a sewing machine attachment for making bound buttonholes embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational View;

FIG. 4 is an end view, looking toward the left in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

To illustrate one embodiment of my invention there is shown in the drawings an attachment comprising an elongated plate member designated generally by the numeral 10, this member being provided with an elongated slot 11 extending substantially throughout the length thereof.

At positions spaced from the central slot 11 the material of the plate is depressed downwardly so as to provide elongated depressions or grooves 14 and 15, thus leaving strips of metal 16 and 17 adjacent the slot at a higher elevation than the bottoms of these grooves.

Relatively narrow edges 18 and 19 remain at the outer sides of these grooves which are in substantially the same plane as the portions 16 and 17 adjacent the central slot. At their forward edges these strips 18 and 19 are turned downwardly to provide lugs 20 and 21 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

At the under side of the plate member 10, as shown in FIG. 1, a yoke is provided which consists of a coiled bight portion 22 freely embracing a pin 23 secured to the plate member and forwardly extending legs 24 and 25, these legs being engaged adjacent their forward ends by lugs 26 and 27 formed integrally with the plate member so that they will be removably held in place. It is understood that this yoke member is thus hinged to the pin 23 so that the legs may be disengaged from the lugs 26 and 27 and the yoke swung outwardly from the plate member to enable the insertion of the patch into the attachment.

Indicating marks such as shown at 30 and 31 may be provided on the portions 16 and 17 to indicate the beginning of the sewing operation. It is then desirable to provide some means to indicate the terminus of this operation, and this means comprises a guide member 32 slidably mounted upon the plate member 10. This member extends transversely across the plate and is folded over at its edges, as shown at 33 and 34 (FIG. 4), so as to embrace the edge strips 18 and 19, thus holding the guide member in place and preventing canting or twisting thereof. It will be prevented from becoming completely detached from the plate by the lugs 20 and 21 at the forward ends of the strips 18 and 19 which have been previously referred to.

The guide member or slider 32 is provided with a recess 35 adjacent its central portion, leaving side portions or Wings 36 and 37 overlying that part of the plate member outside of the raised parts 16 and 17. The rear edges 33 and 39 of the guide member will be set at the proper position with respect to the indicators 30 and 31 to provide a seam of the proper length. The recess 35 permits the forward edge of the presser foot of the sewing machine to extend beyond this point so that the stitching may extend up to the edges 38 and 39.

In order that the slider or guide member 32 be retained in any position to which it may be moved, resilient tongues 40 and 41 are struck downwardly from the wing members 36 and 37 to engage the upper faces of the grooves 14 and 15 as shown more particularly in FIGS. 1 and 5. These tongues thus frictionally engage the upper surface of the plate member so that the slider will remain in adjusted position. At the forward edge of the guide member or slider 32 the material thereof may be bent upwardly, as shown at 42, which may be grasped by the fingers of the operator to adjust this member to the proper position.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claim.

What I claim is:

A device for making bound buttonholes comprising an elongated base plate having a longitudinally extending slot therein, the plate having longitudinal parallel grooves in the upper surface thereof at opposite sides of said slot, a yoke member hinged to the plate adjacent one end thereof and having legs extending toward the other end, one on each side of said slot, said members being disposed on the under side of the plate, and a guide member at the upper side of said plate and extending thereacross having its edges crimped over the edges of the base plate to slidably mount it thereon, said guide member having a recess in an edge thereof facing one end of the base plate to provide a relatively narrow portion spanning the slot,

UNITED STATES PATENTS 675,785 Moller June 4, 1901 1,401,000 Skolfield Dec. 20, 1921 1,547,965 Seybert July 28, 1925 2,939,412 Burgess et a1. June 7, 1960 

